Envelop-machine.



F. P. FLAGG & G. W. SMITH.

. ENVELOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1907.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

4 SHEBTS-SHBET l.

WITHES'EYE 5;

F. F. FLAGG & G. W. SMITH. ENVELOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED M AY4, 1907.

Patnted 001;. 27, 1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. F. FLAGG & G. W. S MIT H. ENVELOP MACHINE. APPLIUATION TILED MAY 1,1907.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

F. F. PLAGG & G. W. SMITH.

ENVELOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1907.

Patented 001;.27, 1908.

4 SHEETS-$111331 f.

marten STATES PATENT orr on.

FRED Flt-Ah GIS FLAGG AND GEOl-tG [*1 W. SMITH, OF WORCESTER,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO JOHN A. SHERMAN, OF WORCESTER,MASSACHUSETTS.

ENVELOP-MAGHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

To all 2 :71am it may concernf lie it known that we, Fnnn F. FLAGG andGreener: SMITH, both of \Vorcester, in the county of Worcester and Stateof Massachusetts, and .both citizens of the United States, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Envelop-Machines, of which,

the following is a specification.

in Letters Patent of the United States No. 843,707, dated February 12,1907, and granted to John A. Sherman, there is described a plunger usedin connection with a creasing table and folding box of an envelopmachine of a type well known; The plunger has an opening surrounded. bya casing which forms a hopper for a pile of transparent blanks orpatches, the patches being kept from falling through the opening byclips arranged around the edge of the opening. The patches are intendedto' be at tached to an envelop having an opening in its face. the edgesof the opening being gm'mned, the patch closing the opemn'g, an byreason of its transparent character allowing the address upon .theincglosure to be read,

so saving the trouble of addressing the en-" velop.

Our invention consists in means for centering and supporting patches ofa similar character in the plunger so that the lower patch of the pilewhich comes in contact with and is to be attached to the envelop blankabout to be folded will be the more easily attached and withdrawn fromthe bottom of the pile while the rest of the patches will be properlysupported within the casing, and also in a carrier constructed tocooperate with such a plunger Without reducing the speed of the machine.

Our invention will be understood by reference to the drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a top view of a plunger em bodying our invention, Fig. 2being an under view thereof, Fig. 3 an end view, a portion of the edgebeing broken away to show the.

construction of one of the posts. Fig. 4 isa sectional elevation on line44 of Fig. 1, and

.The plunger A is operated in the usual manner. It is rectangular and ofany ordinary outline to conform to the shape of the envelop and to theopening A in the creas-' ing frame by means of which and the plunger theenvelop blank is to be creased.

A is the plunger rod from which the plunger is hung. This plunger isprovided with a feed opening A Vertical rods B, B are mountednear eachend of the opening and to the bottom of each rod is attached a clip 6 toform a support for thepile of patches C contained above it. as guides tokeep the blanks properly piled and in proper place to be fed and also toengage the patch and assist in holding the patches in the plunger.

The preferred shape 'of the patches is shown in Fig. 5 where the patchis lettered V and it isthereshown attached to the inner surface of theenvelop blank D. The patch is approximately rectangular and ofsufiicient size to close the opening in the envelop. Near each end it isnarrowed as at c and at each end it is provided with ears 0 thus.forming notches which fit around the rods B; B (or around the rods B inthe modification below referred to), engaging them more or less closelyand cooperating with these rods to hold the patch from endwise movement.This is a convenient way of holding the ends of the patches The rods B,B serve from longitudinal movement. Thus the pile of patches is properlysupported at each end, while there will be a tendency to sag at-themiddle on the part of the lower patches of the pile. The patches,however,

cannot fallout because of the engagement of a the cereal with the rodsB, B As the plunger moves downwardly upon an envelop blank the middle orsagglng por-,

tion' of the lower patch (see Fig.4) strikes the gummed surface on theenvelop blank first, and as the plunger rises the lower patch by reasonof its engagement with the blank is drawn out from the plunger, the ears0 being drawn out from behind the rods B, B. The patch is then pressedin place by the. pressure of thefolders as they fold the envelop. Thesefolders are indicated at-E and are operated in the usual way, the bottomof the box being lettered E We prefer to' make two of these rodsadjustable in order .to conform to any possible irregularity in thecutting of the patches. For this purpose I v I, A M

instead of being fixedly supported in the plunger the rods B aresupported in grooves b in the walls of the plunger opening and setscrews 7) are provided which pass through the edge of the plunger, theend of each screw being attached to its rod B so that as the screw isturned the foot of the rod is moved either in or out as the case-may be.The heads of the screws should not project beyond the outer wall of theplunger, otherwise they will strike the walls of the creasing frame.

While we have shown four rods forming a skeleton inclosure for the blankpile, it is evident that a casing may be provided instead the walls ofwhich are so shaped to engage ears or their etpiivalents. and it is alsoevident that the opening of the plungermay be of any convenient shapeprovided clips such as re shown at Z) are mounted on the plunger tosupport the blanks, and means are provided to engage the edges of theblanks and hold them from endwise movement as described. For example, wehave shown" in Fig. 6 another construction wherein the patches thoughdifferently shaped are sii'nilarly held. In this constructimi there arebut. two ror s which we have lettered 3*, each carrying clips Z), and inthis case the ears 0 on the patches turn inwardly instead of outwardlyso that each pair of ears hug around the same rod B. The rods in thiscase are approximately of the same shape as the space between the ears.The principle of operation in each case is the same in that the blanksare held from falling downward by clips and from endwise motion by rodspast. which, however, they may slide or be pulled as occasion requires,the pile of patches in each case being pressed back into their nor- 'malor proper position by the pressure of the plunger on the botton'i of thefolding box each time the plunger strikes the envelop blank. Theimprovement in the carrier which renders it possible to use thismechanism without interfering with the speed of the machine is shown inFigs. 7, S and 9. .In each case F represents the ways in which thecarrier caused to slide by means such as is usual in such cases. Theseways are provided with crossbars F F", which together with the portionof the ways lying between them form the creasing frame, this being theusual construction in every respect except that. the cross-bar F has aslight. elevation for purposes to be hereinafter described.

The carrier G performs the usual function of carrying the blank from thepicker to the plunger. Its forward end 9 is cut away at 9 so as not toengage with the rising picker it moves forward. "It is mounted as usualon slide-bars g and is operated in the usual way. Instead ofthe usualconstruction of that. part. of the carrier which supports the back flapof the envelop, we provide swingmg wings each comprising two arms H, 11each wing being pivoted in a slide-bar at H The-arms H support the backflap end of the blank and the arms 1 engage with pins /L on the ways F,F to spread the wings against the stops [L3 as the cam moves rearwardtowards the creaser frame and with pins 72., h mounted onrods if, if atthe forward end of the ways F F to close the wings again so that theymay be in position to receive a fresh blank. For this purpose the arms Hare preferably made wedgeshaped. 3y this means a clear passage isallowed so that the carrier can start forward before the plunger clearsthe creasing frame in its upward movement.

' It is evident that the wings may be spread by engagement of the partsH with the bars B, B as the carrier moves forward without theintt-ufvention of the pins 71, h, but we prefor to provide especialmeans for the purpose as shown. lVe have provided the cross-bar F withthe elevation f" and have bent the arms H, H to ride over this elevationas shown in Fig. 9, as this brings the gummed surface to which the patchis to be attached into a higher position for engagement with the patchas the plunger in its descent will strike that portion of the blankfirst and cause the engagement of the patch with it.

it is evident that the shape of the wings may be changed and differentmeans be adopted for moving them. So far as we know the use of a carrierhaving a movable part or parts for supporting a portion. 'of the blankfrom below is entirely new with us and it. has added n'iaterially to thespeed of the nun-lune.

The advantageof our improvement over the invention shown in the patentabove referred to lies mainly in the fact that. the

. patches archeld near the corners so that the middle portion of thelower patch is free to engage with the gummed surface of the envelopblank, and when engaged will pull the ends of the blank from theirretaining means, and the retaining means may be any means which willsupport the ends of the blank from falling out of the plunger whileallowing the middle portion to and strike the gummed surface of theblank in advance of the rest of the patch.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. in an envelop machine, a plunger having a. feed opening therein, andmeans 10- cated about said opening for holding the ends of patchescorrespondingly shaped and supported above said opening from a movementtowards each other.

2. A plunger having an opening therethrongh the edge of which isprovided with projections forming with the ends of said opening recessesnear said ends, rods located on said projections and projecting upwardlyv responding in shapes to said opening and each. other.

at. In an envelop machine, a plunger having afeed opening substantiallyrectangular in shape, havin near each end a narrowed hold them frommovement towards or from portion and at t e, extreme end a widerportion, -whereby a blank correspondingly shaped-may be held fromlengthwise movement by-engagemgntr-of end sections-with -the.narrowedjportioti of said opening.

In an en'velop'machine, a plunger havj'nga feediopening substantiallyrectangular in shape provided near each end with guide rodsprojectinginto and narrowin the feed openin whereby the ends of the ower one of api e of blanks held above said opening shaped to correspond therewithare kept from, movement towards or from each other andthe lower blank isallowed to sag at the middle, as and for the purposesset forth.

6. In an envelop machine, a plunger having a feed opening and means forholding a stack oi patches therein comprising rods locatedin pairs, onepair at eachend of said opening, the rods of each pair being nearertogether than the main width of the opening whereby said rods maycooperate with the lateral edges of a suitably-shaped patch to hold itin place, as set forth.

7. In an envelop machine, a plunger having a feed opening and means forholding a stack I of suitably shaped patches therein comprising-rodslocated in pairsiapproximately at the corners of said opening, one rodof each pair being adjustable towards and from'the other rod of the samepair whereby said rods may be caused to engage with side edges of saidpatches, as set forth.

8, In an envelop machine, a plunger adapted to be i'eciprocated tocrease an envelop blank, havinga feed opening and means such as'verticalrods for holding suitably shaped patches therein at approximately thefour corners thereof, whereby-"the lower blank will midway between itsends, but said ends will be held from movement towards each other, incombination with a folding box located below said plunger and adapted tocoiiperate with the plunger and envelop blank to withdraw-a patch fromthe feed opening.

9. In an envelop machine, a plunger having a feed opening therein, aplurality-of carrying clips and bars, each'bar forming a recess betweenit and the nearer end of said opening whereby it may engage with a notchin thepatch to be carried by said plunger over said feed opening andprevent said patches from movement toward the center thereof.

10. In an envelop machine, in combination with a plunger, a carrierhaving movable wings' adapted to support the blank upon said carrierduring the rearward 1n0ve ment thereof, and means located at theextremity of its rearward line of movement whereby said wings will bespread to allow the carrier to'pass said plunger on its return movementwhile said plunger is below the level of said carrier.

11. In an "envelop machine, in combination'with a plunger, and carrierways, a carrier having movable wings, said wings being substantiallyangular in shape, and. means mounted upon the carrier ways to throw saidwings into blank-holding position while saidcarrier is in its forwardposition, as described. 7 1

12. In an envelop. machine, a plunger, ways to support a carrier, acarrier adapted to run in said ways and having wings angular in shape,and'means located at each end of said ways toengage said wings and causethem to spread and also to close in to form a support for the blank, asset forth.

13. In an envelop machine, in combination, a plunger provided with afeed open mg, means for supporting patches within said feed-opening, acarr er located to move I across the path of sand plunger, a creasingframe adapted to cooperate with said plunger to crease the envelopblank, the rearward wall of said creasing frame being elevated wherebyone edge of the blank, will be elevated and the plunger will strike theelevated edge of the blank first in its descent. 14. In an envelopmachine, a plunger having a feed opening, means for holding'a pile.

of patches therein, a carrier adapted to carry a blank under.said'plunger, a creasing frame located below said plunger and adaptedto, cooperate therewith to crease the blank and. remove itfrom thecarrier, the wall'of. said creasing frameadjacent to the feed openin insaid plunger being slightly elevated whereby the plunger in its descentwill cause a patch to first strike the blank at a near the creasingframe, as set forth.

I5. In an envelop machine, a carrier hav-- ing a horizontal movement andadapted to point cooperate with a vertically moving picker by means ofwhich the blanks are to be gummed and deposited upon the carrier, beingsubstantially rectangular in sha e with, however, a portion projectingor-Ward adapted to support one ofthe'wings of the I envelop blank andsaid carrier being cut away at its front edge whereby in its movement ina direction toward the picker it may partially overlap the described.

16. In an envelop machine, a creasing frame one side 01": which iselevated, acerrier adapted to move over the creasing frame, said carrierbeing provided with Wings adapted to support :i; portion of the blank,the supporting arms of said Wings being angular in shape to ride oversaid elevation.

path of the picker, as

